CANCER….Check Your Local Listings
I remember so clearly, when Leroy wrote his blog post about calling a restaurant for a reservation and using the “cancer card.” He wrote it tongue, firmly in-cheek, but from the responses he got, we all realized, there was more truth that fiction in the message. Some folks had actually done this, feeling OK about it.
It made me more aware of how some people ‘used’ their cancer.
Now comes a new movie about hit the big screens, titled, “50/50.” It’s about a young man who gets a cancer diagnosis and when he tells his best friend, they both decide how to make the best out of a bad situation. Watching the previews, this movie is advertised as a comedy. Facing the doctor after hearing the news, the young man says something like, “How can this be? I don’t smoke or drink…and I recycle.” His best pal asks what his odds are of beating the cancer and he says “50-50.” The friend replys, “If you were a casino game, you’d have the best odds.”
Cancer on the big screen. Cancer, the comedy.
Showtime’s big hit show, “The Big C’ has it’s season finale tonight. Laura Linney has played the role of cancer victim who tries to make the best of a bad diagnosis. Cancer on the small screen. It’s a comedy too.
And recently there have been a few newspaper pieces written about cancer survivors who say they came through their treatments and never looked back. They made it sound like cancer was a small stone in their shoe…an annoyance that took time out of their day to deal with, but that-is-that and it’s on with life. A lot of smiling faces with glasses raised in the newspaper pictures to go with the articles.
So there you have it….Cancer is a hot topic. A comedy, a big new movie, a front page feature article. Check your local listings for more…
September 27, 2011 @ 2:42 pm
I find some movies and TV movies that deal with a real life situation of a cancer patient and family are uplifting and REAL. Most are just not worth the time to even consider. I also love the “celebrities” who most often appear in the National Enquirer or People saying for the world to read “How I almost had cancer…read the shocking story”!!!! Gag me with a spoon!!
There are truly some comedic moments experienced by patients but mostly there is very little humor found in OR’s, chemo rooms and hospice rooms. I won’t watch any of these programs.
September 27, 2011 @ 9:29 am
I don’t find any humor in cancer, I find courage in people that can laugh in the face of cancer. Those sitcoms and comedies were probably written by people that haven’t experienced it. Reality shows should utilize the time and talents and put a real show on TV about the reality of the horrid disease! I would bet it would get awesome ratings, but does TV really want to be ready for the painful truths yet…..I hope so….but I am betting not. What a way to reach people!
September 26, 2011 @ 5:37 pm
Someone recently told me that when he was growing up one never talked about cancer in his town because it was looked upon as a personal failure. Imagine carrying that around inside!
I try to have an open mind. If portrayals of the experience of cancer are truthful and honest; help overcome stigmas, prejudices, discrimination; or help demystify what it’s like to be someone with cancer, then I’m generally ok with them.
My friend who is being treated for brain cancer posted a video of her receiving one of her radiation treatments. From the comments, I could tell she did everyone a service by posting that video. I think of that kind of openness as allowing her to have control over the disease, to show it doesn’t need to be hidden and that she doesn’t need to go into hiding because she has cancer. I find her inspiring.